just watch it!

Expected more

I wanted to like it more than I actually did... But much of the humor totally escaped me and I walked out only mildly impressed.

The film creates a perfect balance between action and depth of basic needs, in the midst of an infertile atmosphere.

if you are a fan of sonic youth or nirvana this movie is for you, you have to be a fan to get into this one, lots of live tracks, behind the scenes footage, but not really a coherent or has much of a narrative, i think there is a DVD copy available now, not sure if there is an Australian region 4 version. but it is available as a region 1. looking back on this movie, it could have been a true classic as some of the live footage is spectacular and the cast are truly interesting and inspiring characters, but that side of the film is cold, and keeps the audience at a distance. as a time capsule it keeps the myth of grunge and nirvana fully intact. watch it with a fan

First of all, this movie's production must be commented on. It's very home movie-ish. That is to say, expect lots of randomly edited, disjointed, shaky clips which all add up to a collage of cinematic noise - perfectly complemented by the many clips of noise inspired (if... 'noise' could be of inspiration to anyone...) music, which permeates this film.Sure, I like quite a few Nirvana songs, but not much Sonic Youth. Albeit in her day, I'll safely say that their bass playing girl was extremely cute. Her cuteness does not, however, eclipse the fact that their noise bound music was not exactly what one whistles on the way to work.Yes, I was very disappointed by this, in spite of its high rating; mainly for the reasons stated in 1st para above. However, if you adore Sonic Youth then you'll probably like this enough to rate it highly, in spite of its many productive shortcomings. Just don't expect any great story, revelatory insights, or any thing remotely meaningful to be found lurking behind all the disjointed clips plus occasional cameos from Kurt and friends.All in all, this is a very average experience and you could safely live your life, and say you've lived without needing to watch this first. 5/5 at best for most folk, and 7+/10 for lovers of Sonic Youth's sound.

The 'grunge' explosion of the early and mid nineties was quite possibly the single most contrived piece of marketing in the history of western civilisation, neatly packaging raw emotion and powerful self expression, diluting it into managable and meanigless chunks, and then reselling it to emotionally challanged teenagers. All the bad stuff that came with that social mini revolution often makes us forget all the fun we used to have before 1991 and Nevermind. But this documentary provides ample reminder of that time. Fusing blistering live performances from some of THE great underground bands of the 1980's - 1990's (stand up Sonic Youth, Dinosaur Jnr, Gumball and Babes in Toyland), with tiny snippets of backstage larks that truly portray the excitment of the period. What is truly exceptional about this piece is its subtlety in the presentation of the major issues of the time, namely the issue of old school punk ethics versus the attitudes of the increasingly main stream fans the bands were attracting. A good example of this is the way Thurston Moore of Sonic Youth dispenses a mocking impersenation of a grumpy Irish scooter 'fan' ("I'm planning to put the front cover of 'Goo' on me scooter" Oh PLEASE!). The actual moment itself was so brief you could easily miss it, but it brilliantly sums up the attitudes of all the bands to this new audience they were attracting, and with whom they shared no common ideas or beliefs. Ao=nother joy of this film is that you get to see a pre-fame Nirvana, Shock Horror!, having FUN. Since his suicide the media has tended to paint Kurt Cobain as a tragic figure, consumed by inner - demons and constantly living under a black cloud. Yet here Kevin Kerslake shows a lighter, more human, side to this near mythological individual and also offers us what l feel to be one of the most powerful images of the century. After falling of stage and into the crowed, Kurt is pulled back onto the stage by Thurston, both with big smiles on their faces, having fun, and totally unaware of the tragedy that we, with the benfit of hindsight, know will soon befall them. Kerslake further emphasizes this moment by freezing it for just enough time to allow the full meaning of the image to sink in. A truly exceptional representation of the unifying spirit of the old, and sadly long gone, underground network. OR maybe they were just all having a laff. You know, a bunch of really cool bands with alot to say and a big noise to make who just wanted to get out their and make some eardrums bleed. Oh well, its only rock and roll but l like it.

Forget how MTV and the media portrayed Sonic Youth & Nirvana, or typecasted all their featured friends from the northwest...this is honest a look as you could get of content veteran rockers Sonic Youth and some of the last care-free days of Nirvana. Hilarious behind-the-scenes stuff, great live performances, and hell...they even threw in the Ramones! Right up there with "The Decline of Western Civilization" as far as punk documentaries go.